It is no secret that mormons believe they can become exalted to godhood after living worthy lives and fulfilling several ordinances of the Church, namely baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, priesthood ordination, temple Endowment, and celestial marriage. Celestial marriage means that good, "temple-bound" mormons are "sealed" to their spouse for all time & eternity, and after being exalted to godhood, will eternally procreate, adding to the heavenly family their own spirit children. These ordinances are so crucial to the LDS view of eternity that special ceremonies are conducted inside their temples where the ordinances are performed vicariously through a living person on behalf of a deceased person that had no opportunity to receive those ordinances during their mortal lives. I have major problems with this doctrine, not the least being that it is clear in the Bible what happens when we, as humans, try to be exalted to godhood. Take for example Adam & Eve being removed from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:5, the Tower of Babel being destroyed in Genesis 11:1-9, and Satan's most critical sin that got him cast out of heaven as described in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19. God is also repeatedly clear in the Bible that he alone is God (and no, this doesn't break from my firm belief that Jesus is God in the flesh, because Jesus is just one aspect of the Trinity, all three parts being one and the same God, just manifested differently). You can read Isaiah 43:10-11 and Isaiah 45:5. Additionally, the Bible states that even demons believe that there is only one God, and they tremble (James 2:19)!
While that is obviously an important issue, it is a topic I would like to save for a later date. The belief I would like to rest on for now is the idea that marriage is eternal, and a necessary step to spending eternity in the presence of the Most High God.
Paul spends a lot of time writing about marriage in 1 Corinthians 7. He states in verse 7 that he wishes all men were as he was-- unmarried. He repeatedly says that it's better for a widow or a virgin to remain unmarried, but why? Because our time on earth is short, and we should not care as much for the things of this world (like pleasing a spouse), but rather we should care about pleasing the Lord (verses 32-35). Furthermore, he states the non-permanence of the marriage bond upon entering into eternity in verse 39:
"The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."
Then there's the kicker-- Paul, despite being unmarried, recognizes that he is not missing out on anything that God has for him:
"I think also that I have the Spirit of God." (verse 40)
Given Paul's aversion to entering into a marriage relationship, would mormons also believe that Paul, who was beheaded for his faith, got less in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Furthermore, Jesus says this in Luke 20:34-36:
"...The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die anymore: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."
My second issue with the teaching of eternal marriage is that it completely ignores that we, Christ's Church, have already been promised to Christ as his bride. This relationship is described in Revelation 21:9, Ephesians 5:31-32, and also beautifully in 2 Corinthians 11:2 (and how unique that just after saying we are promised to Christ, verse 3 talks about how Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning and Paul is afraid our minds may also be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ!) to list a few. On that note, mormons believe that Jesus was exalted to godhood after his resurrection, but how was he able to attain that status without the ordinance of marriage? It is certainly not Biblical to believe that he was married, so who is his "eternal companion"?
I am reminded of the following admonition in Colossians 2:8-9:
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
If you choose to open your heart to the Word of the Lord, and let it speak to you void of human philosophy, you will start to see a wonderful picture of who Jesus is and what God has done for his Church. I pray that God will draw you to himself as you learn more about Him, and that someday the Truth will set you free. I love you friends!
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